7/25/97, Belize City
to Guatemala Border, ending in Flores, Guatemala--

A fun day with a frightening ending.
It started out fine. We returned by boat from Caye Caulker, off the coast
of Belize City. Then we picked up the Rovers and drove west toward the
Guatemala border. On the way, we took a turn-off to see some ruins. The
road required us to cross a river by going over a cable bridge. An old
man was manning the bridge. He had been sending vehicles and people across
the Mopan river every day for forty years by turning a manual cable wheel
(thatís what he told us, anyway). He certainly looked like he had been
reeling cars back and forth his whole life.

While at the Caye, we had picked
up two Dutch girls named Iris and Evelyn. They were going to Tikal as well,
so we offered them a ride.

Todd doesnít like to drive at
night, and I donít blame him. Although I was usually the instigator for
all-night driving, it was a bad decision on this day. We were at the Guatemala
border for about two hours, getting ourselves and the vehicles cleared
through customs.

The road from the Belize/Guatemala
border to Flores is known for bandits and frequent hold-ups. When we entered
the border, we were greeted by a huge billboard with a picture of a scary-looking
gorilla. He looked ferocious! His fangs were showing, and he was wearing
a red beret. The sign said "Beware!" I wish I had snapped a picture of
it. Despite the gorillaís warning, we pressed on for four nervous hours
and made it to Flores safely.